My Gentle Alpha

Chapter 22: The Grasslands War

The war was slow and arduous. Tribe after tribe fell. Alea could still hear the screams and begging of the male and female betas and omegas. The first few times she felt physically nauseous. Tears silently running from her eyes during the night where no one could see. She witnessed the true brutality of war. The cavalry rested for short periods of time leaving only the burning corpses of those alphas and the dead eyed and hopeless survivors. All the animals were slaughtered, the food was eaten. Those survivors wouldn't starve to death though. No, they had a much more horrific fate awaiting them. The infantry that marched behind acted to clean up the mess the forward cavalry made. It costs money to maintain this gigantic army. What better way to recoup the losses than by selling some slaves. What kind of slaves will they be? Whatever their owner wants them to be.

Watching the same atrocities happen countless times has made Alea numb to it. She along with a few people like her, who wanted nothing to do with it, just kept watch around the perimeter. They didn't say a word, but they all knew why they were standing there. Surprisingly Rodan was also one of the people that stood out there. Perhaps he knew why they were looking at him, so he took the opportunity to clarify.

"When I was young. I watched Kaesan be breached by the barbarians. They took control of the city at that time, killing most of the soldiers. My mother was afraid they'd do the same to us children so she hid us away. I watched as those barbarians broke in. Seeing my mother was a beautiful omega, they took turns with her. She never screamed. She just hoped they could be done with it and get out of the house without finding us.

My mother was the strongest person I've ever met. But those memories haunted her everyday. She lived to the day my youngest sister became an adult. The next day she had slit her wrists, the tear streaks still stained her face

I don't agree with what has been ordered. But it's a necessary evil. I can only not personally participate, just the same as you all".

Hearing the deputy generals words the rest of the soldiers standing there felt melancholy. They all just wanted this to end. No one wants to be stuck in this hellish place, doing these inhumane things any more.

... After what seemed to be months of treacherous battles, the southern and eastern tribes had been either enslaved or massacred. Akridel who understood the seriousness of the situation sent word out to every remaining tribe. They would pool together every person that was willing to fight. This came to a remarkable total. Millions of horses were stationed outside the grassland capital. The flags of dozens of different tribes flew around these camps.

The cavalry army knew the danger and quickly sent word back to the main general. The main general, Sentad, had not been idle in these months. The logistic teams had been setting up camps to resupply where ever they could. Massive war machines were slowly marched along these camps. Trebuchets and ballistas that moved as far as the eye could see. She sent word for the cavalry to remain in place, and to wait for reinforcements to arrive.
She watched as the machines continued on and ordered the army to follow.

Days went by with few troubles between the barbarians and those of the northern cavalry army. Akridel felt strange. He hasn't come this far being useless. He felt that they were waiting. He didn't know what they were waiting for, but he knew if they were waiting it meant they weren't confident in beating his soldiers.

He quickly gathered the heads of the tribes together and discussed his doubts. They hadn't seen the infantry army behind, but they probably guessed Treiss was probably sending reinforcements. They thought they should take the lead to attack the cavalry. Though there would be heavy losses against those heavy armoured elites, they didn't think the reinforcements would be too many. This overconfidence would soon be their downfall.

The battle was nothing more than a glorified slaughter. Both sides simply reverted to the most primal fighting. No tactics could be used with such vast numbers, the northern cavalry could only rely on their tacit understanding and superior equipment, but under the endless waves of barbarian warriors there numbers were dwindling.

Alea was swinging and thrusting as fast as she could. She felt no hope for them. They didn't know when the reinforcements would be able to arrive. Remembering what Rodan had said, "Unless they win the war, they couldn't leave the grassland". She wanted to scream. In fact she did. Hopeless and unwilling screams. However they mixed into a cacophony of howls and shrieks, coming from the soldiers on both sides. The sounds could be heard from the capital, and they could also be heard by the reinforcements.

The sight of the reinforcements was nothing short of a miracle for the dwindling northern cavalry. They burst out into a ferocity that was unforeseen. The barbarians that thought they had victory in their hands were terrified by the sight. Akridel standing on the walls of the capital was aghast. He never in his wildest dreams thought Treiss could send so many soldiers, but looking into the vast lines of infantry, the massive siege equipment that was neatly progressing towards the capital, he finally felt fear.

The infantry didn't stop for a moment. The cavalry was ordered to retreat back. The volleys of the archers began to littler the tired and fearful barbarians. Siege equipment rolled to a stop and was set up with haste. The barbarians could only watch as Trebuchets firing flaming barrels of oil, and stones smashed the capital. Akridel sent everything he had at them. This battle would only end when no one was left to fight. Pikemen dropped their pikes down in strong phalanx formations. Archers continued to bombard the oncoming barbarians and the remaining cavalry attacked from the sides.

The battle took days, many barbarians tried to surrender but were mercilessly executed. Blood ran like a river across the fields around the capital and the fires blazed bright from the capital itself.

The northern army broke into the capital, killing anyone that resisted. Those betas and omegas were imprisoned, and just like that, over a century of countless battles had been drawn to a close. Courtesy of this resounding victory.